let go and know
by Caliente
Summary: Heroic Age one-shot –– After chatting with Beast, Molly decides to visit the X-Men in NorCal about the whole five lights/extinction thing. First, though, she foils Sebastian Shaw's escape attempt, semi-rescues Wolverine and meets her crush—Cyclops.


**Author's Note:** Written for the LJ comm girlsavesboyfic. Set after _Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age_ one-shot, which is briefly referenced as a jumping off point. First stab at anything _Runaways_, so do be gentle, please. Title taken from the Matt Nathanson song _Car Crash_, which is not mine. Unbeta'd, I'm afraid, so feel free to prod if there are any glaring errors! Cheers.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters mentioned are used without permission and are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. I do not own them and am simply borrowing for my purposes. Please don't sue.

**let go and know  
**by Bether

When Molly Hayes spoke with Beast at the La Brea Tar Pits, she'd expected to get answers. Instead, she was left unsettled and with more questions than ever. And, when those feelings refused to go away, she decided a trip to visit the X-Men was in order. (Who better to explain what the five lights meant for her as a mutant and if she really would end up having normal children someday because her parents were mutants and they had her, so that didn't make much sense unless they really were going extinct, which would be… bad. So.)

It took a lot of convincing (whining) and pleading (more whining) and bribery (a promise to cease whining) but eventually she got her way. (It helped that Molly managed to convince Nico a trip was just the thing to help cheer Karolina up—she was still missing Xav something fierce, not that anyone blamed her, but she wanted to help if possible.) (Although she really couldn't understand what it was Chase found so hilarious about Karolina and Molly visiting San Francisco—or why it annoyed Nico so much.)

Anyway, that was how she wound up riding on a Lucy in the Sky direct flight from Malibu to Marin. Karolina dropped her off at Graymalkin Industries, making Molly recite her cell number three times (even though it was programmed into the phone she'd borrowed from Chase) before she'd leave. And, even then, she made it clear she'd be back at two-pm, regardless of whether or not Molly called. (So totally overkill but her friends were worrywarts.) (She didn't really mind—it was part of what made them a good family.)

Of course, it just _figured_ that the moment Karolina's rainbow streak was out of sight a fight exploded onto the lawn seemingly from nowhere. It was a two man brawl, one she easily recognized as Wolverine—he was in blue and yellow, his claws were out and Molly still had a few posters of him, even if she didn't want to marry him anymore. (Seriously, no. Now, Cyclops on the other hand…) The other fighter was in a weird ruffle shirt and had a ponytail tied with a ribbon. (Girly much?) And, even though he had a bloody nose, he was smiling unpleasantly.

Molly watched as Wolverine hacked and slashed at the man but he didn't bleed as much as she thought he should be. (Invulnerability—she knew it when she saw it.) And when he hit Wolverine, the man with _metal laced to his bones_ went flying a lot further than he ought to from a simple punch. (Super-strength, too, then.) Molly didn't waste time thinking after that; she pushed the gate bars apart and slipped into the yard. (Because anyone fighting Wolverine on X-Men property wasn't a _good_ guy, that wasn't how these things worked.)

"Hey!" she shouted when she was within hitting distance of the man. "That's not—" she swung back and hit him with a punch—"nice!"

He stumbled back, landing unceremoniously on his butt. When he stood up, he was grinning in a way that unnerved Molly. (Usually people were unconscious—or at least _angry_—after she hit them.) "That's some right hook, girl," he told her, rubbing his chin.

She stood her ground defiantly, watching for Wolverine's reappearance. (He'd gone pretty far was the thing.) "Plenty more where that came from." It was the sort of thing Chase might say—brave and intimidating like she didn't really feel.

The grin on his face grew wider. "You, little girl—I don't know you." He straightened, gaze sweeping over her curiously. "Do you know who I am?"

"A fan of Ren Faires?" Molly offered with a shrug. (She wasn't sure but his clothes kind of looked like what she'd seen there.)

He laughed at that, loud and long. (It wasn't a sound Molly liked; it echoed of cruelty.) "I like you, girl, so I'm going to give you a chance to walk away." Molly opened her mouth to decline but he was quicker, "And, before you make your decision, I think you should know—I absorb kinetic energy." He peered down at her all high and mighty like adults always seemed to be whenever they were _so sure_ they knew more than her. (Jerks.) "Do you know what that means?"

(Regretfully, he _did_ know more than her in this instance, so—) Molly shook her head.

"It means," he said, stepping closer as if imparting some deep, meaningful secret to her, "that every time I get hit, stabbed or shot, that my body takes that energy and uses it to make me stronger."

Which meant, Molly realized, she was pretty powerless to stop him. All her powers were good for was hitting! (Well, and keeping her from getting too badly hurt.)

She was interrupted from having to decide what to do next when Wolverine bum rushed the man from the side with a loud yell that sounded like, "SHAAAAW!" (Since that didn't sound much like a war cry, she figured that was probably the man's name.)

Unfortunately, when Shaw kicked Wolverine off, he went flying about ten football fields further than before. (Probably thanks to Molly's super-strong hit. Oops.) Then Shaw saluted her as he moved toward the gate.

Stepping into his path, Molly hoped she looked more confident than she felt. "I… I can't let you go, Mister." Because, even though she didn't know why Wolverine was fighting him, she knew she shouldn't just let him leave no questions asked. (Seriously, there was _no way_ this guy was anything other than a bad guy and she was kind of a superhero, so she had a responsibility to stop him and stuff.)

Shaw smirked, visibly amused. "Then I'm going to have to hurt you." He swatted her out of the way with the back of his hand and she landed hard on her back.

Even with her invulnerability, it still hurt. "Ow." Molly jumped up and shoved Shaw in return. "That was mean!" She tackled him, leading with her shoulder because it was pointy and Chase said it hurt more that way. "You're mean!" (Sadly, her strike didn't do much—not a good sign.)

"Yes," Shaw agreed as he stepped back, "I am." He swung down at her and Molly only just blocked it with her forearms crossed and raised above her head. Beneath her, the ground gave enough to leave some pretty deep footprints behind. He struck her again, pausing only when he saw she was buckling but still standing. "Strong. If I had the time, I—" And then he froze.

Molly blinked, straightened and blinked again. She waved her hands in front of his face, confused. "What the—?"

"Miss Hayes!" It was the Frosty woman, the one who'd forced her into foster care after her evil parents died. Molly instinctively adopted a defensive stance, eying her warily. "Thank you for detaining Sebastian for us. He's been _very _naughty, starting fights on the property and punting Wolverine so far away."

Uncertain how to respond, she shrugged noncommittally. "Oh."

That was when Cyclops—_Cyclops!_—stepped forward. "Molly, what are you doing here? Is everything all right?" (Aw, he was _concerned_ for her! He was going to make a good husband.)

"Yeah, he didn't—" she yawned, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hitting her, "didn't hurt me." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I wanted t'talk but… can I nap first?" Her question was punctuated by another yawn.

Cyclops smiled warmly. "Of course." He offered her a hand and she flushed a little when accepting it. And, as they headed off together, Molly felt like she was walking on clouds. It was awesome. (Except for the part where she could barely keep her eyes open.)

(Later, after she woke up, she didn't get more than a grunt from Wolverine—some thanks, although she felt proud all the same—and her talk with Cyclops and Mrs. Frost about her chat with Beast left her feeling equal parts better and worse. But then Karolina was there with her and she was given an open invite to come back whenever she liked and then it was time to fly home and maybe it'd been enough. Maybe everything was okay _enough_.) (She liked to think it did.)


End file.
